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The Predecessors
"We see the Heralds as a race of wise people, arrogant yet masters of economy. The Precursors are the pinnicle of military power, the most feared race in the galaxy. Superior to us in every intellect. We are the Predecessors, the very inheritors of Zeban. The Caretakers of all life on Zeban. The Precursors seek to destroy all of us, but we shall fight to the end, and in the end. We will win!" -A Predecessor Philologist. The Predecessors (Record Designation, translated in Latin: ''Custos Pacis, ''or "Peacekeepers of Zeban") are a race of beings that today would be called "treehuggers" for their loving of natural life. Warfare in their race however is common, as they are a race born of discipline, achievement and built on a government ruled by martial law. They are a highly trustworthy race, and see distrust towards them as foolish. Their name "Predecessors" is the translated term given to them by the Precursors because they think that they are the original inhabitants of Zeban before the Precursors or Heralds even existed. History The Zeban Wars The Predecessors were naturalists but also extremely well-trained veteran warfighters. During the Zeban Wars, also known as the First Precursor Civil War, the Predecessor secretly supplied Lepidop and his tribe advanced weapons tech, as Lepidop was hoping to unite the Precursor race under a single leadership and race, instead of splinter cells and tribes. This payed off, with Lepidop quickly subjugating the other tribes and forming the Precursor Sovereign Dominion. In return for supplying weapons to them, Lepidop forged an alliance with the Predecessors and both races took advantage of their trading exporting and importing abilities. The Predecessors provided enough technology for the Precursors to evolve to a Tier 2 status, where it was evident that the Precursors rivalled even the Predecessors in military strength, training and technological achievement. By the end of the first few years of the alliance, the Predecessors had expanded their territory into the southern hemisphere. The Heralds and Zebanian Alliance After continued expandment into Zeban's southern hemisphere, the Predecessors came into contact with the Heralds, a highly economic and influential race that enjoys richness and economic supremacy. They quickly expanded their alliance to accompany the Heralds and eventually the Predecessors gathered representitives from both species to sign the Zeban Treaty, which formed the Zebanian Alliance. The Predecessors split the military in half, half was controlled by them and the other half by the Precursors. They technically ruled the alliance's military, they having the upperhand of more understanding of their technology then the Precursors. In return for joining their alliance, the Heralds linked their economy with the Precursors and Predecessors, creating a single economy and currency for the entire alliance, making sure that the Predecessors could concentrate more on recreational and infrastructure development and military funding. Their government however still had to hold firm to politics, which didn't fail them as they lead the Heralds on the Zebanian Alliance's Council. The Supremacy Wars and the end of Predecessor Dominance The Predecessor had control of the military, but over the decades they lessened their grip and became more and more trustworthy of the Precursors. This became their most fatal mistake because at this time, the Precursors were slowly making a incline in military power, hoping to kick out the Predecessors without substantial conflict or worse, all-out planetary war. The Predecessors, to the Precursors delight, remain oblivious to this and continued to fund what they thought, were their troops and army. At this time, the Predecessors were building a large-scale spaceworthy fleet and were preparing for galactic exploration, but when Precursors began building their own fleet a year later, the Predecessors realized something was wrong. They finally heeded the Herald's warnings and forged a seperate alliance, but it was already too late. They kicked the Precursors out of the military and began arming their vessels for planetary bombardment and warfare, but by this time the Precursors had breached every Predecessor/Herald fort around Herald territory, and began to invade. The Predecessors held firm, but it didn't look like victory could be secured. The Predecessors pushed and pushed, but eventually the Heralds were forced to evacuate into their territory, and their the final defense would take place. Eventually the Precursor forces proved too much and decimated the Predecessor forces, completely conquering the Predecessors and Heralds. The war was over, and what little Predecessor prisoners there was were interrogated and murdered in public. The Predecessor's extinction was complete. Description Anatomy and Physiology The Predecessors had a unusual anatomy. Their skeleton was made purely of steel, it is unknown if they were born like this or if they were implanted to make them stronger. In any case, this made Predecessor skeletons extremely durable and able to survive harsh punishment, such as bullets and small amounts of plasma burns. Another unusual feature is their half organic, half synthetic body structure, with a majority being organic. Once again, it is unknown whether they grew like this naturally or were implanted for better performance. It is possible that Zeban's anti-oxygen atmosphere greatly effected pregnancy and somehow caused synthetic and steel components to grow in a child. The Predecessors also had 4 rows of teeth that are extremely similiar to a great white shark's tooth, just larger. In total, they had 99 teeth. Due to the structure in which their teeth formed, it can be said that Predecessors were carnivorous, mostly likely evolving from Zeban's native Plaji or Quarioa and becoming the sentient, intelligent lifeforms they were. They also had two red eyes facing laterally like a human's eyes. The eyes of the creature were said to have "glowed pure red" indicating a level of blood flow into the eye sockets. Predecessor blood was a human red, which could explain why Predecessor eyes glowed their reddish color. Unlike Herald skin, theirs is not fragile but strengthened, meaning they can survive falls or jumps of 20 meters or more without breaking any bones. Behaviour and Education Unlike the Heralds who were arrogant and stubborn, the Predecessors were a confident, courage-driven and largely independent species. They were said to "feel no fear" and would have no hesitation about charging onto the battlefield. They felt no pain, which is a side effect of their steel skeleton and strong body structure. They have been shown to be the only race on Zeban to technologically develop on its own and without outside intevention. They reached Tier 2 status purely by research and technological expertise. They refer to themselves as "the true inheritors of Zeban" and believe the other races are opponents sent by god to prove their integrity and confidence in that fact. As warrior driven as they seem, they are not barbarians or warmongers. They always seek diplomacy first, and when that fails, then they activate backup continegency measures. Due to the rarity of the Predecessors not needing to resort to military intervention, the Predecessors rarely get to show their battle skills. Predecessors also had a strict education system, believing that intelligence in 3 fields were needed: Ashvrak (Predecessor language) Soldier's Boot Camp (Equivalent of Human PE class) and Mathematics. These three core subjects are also the only three subjects available at a Predecessor school as other subjects are seen as "unnesscary." Reproduction Not much is known about Predecessors, except that only three children can be brought to the world by a single clan. If in a Zero Population Growth situation, this rule is completely overriden for a short space of time, and encourages as many births as possible, this rule remains overriden until the Predecessor population reached it's original strength. In the Predecessor's brief history, this was known only to have happened once, which was during the Zeban Wars. During Predecessor pregnancy, they release the son/daughter out of a pouch on the mother's spinal column, where the child stays for six months before being allowed to leave. During this time, the mother must go daily go to a nearby "pharmacy" and retrieve special "baby nutrience" to keep the baby fed and hydrated, otherwise he/she could die while in the pouch. Culture The Culture of the Predecessors is somewhat unknown although some information has been dug up referencing to a "Alpha Geth." Whether is a deity or some type of rank in the Predecessor's political or military system is still under debate. Many have dug up evidence that supports the "Alpha Geth" to be deity, as references to it show Predecessors building a statue with the label "Alpha Geth" conscripted on it (which is actually translated Predecessor) and surrounding it with high-tech safeguards and protection systems. This statue was later found, however much of it had been destroyed, likely during the Battle of Petricon Theta, the final battle of the Supremacy Wars, where the Predecessors and Heralds made their last stand against the Precursors. It hasd already been seen that the Predecessor had a strict dicipline and honorary caste system, where rank elevates one's personality and status. A accomplished and brilliant general is seen as a potential "patriarch" for the government, while unproven grunts are seen as disgraceful, useless wastes of life. Men were expected to enter the military at 14 (which is basically the human equivalent of 2 years old, as Predecessors had a lifespan of 190) and fight for a good 50 years before retiring. Another requirement before retirement is that the recipient must have reached commander status and have earned the respect of his men. Failure to do so results in a longer military service until they do so. Women were expected to take up political, industrial, agricultural, recreational, economical, and Home-based labor, so the majority of the working non-military body of the Predecessor's system was made of women. Children would stay in the Predecessor equivalents of "Child Care" centers until their mothers were finished at work. Homeworld For more information on Zeban, please click here. Trivia *The Predecessors shared a larger similiarity with the Sangheili than the Heralds did, especially when it came to rank, status and military reliance. *The Alpha Geth was described as being a synthetic god that blessed the Predecessors with synthetic parts, bringing them close to "eternal life." This maybe a reference to the Mass Effect Series *The Predecessors seemed to have completely disregarded family and love as a simple "tertiary priority." For example, when men married a woman and produced a child, then either proceeded to part ways, the child going with the mother, or stayed together, but rarely shared companionship. This served as a major flaw for the Predecessor Hegemony, as this completely annilhated the purpose of a military body, as the sole purpose of a military is to "fight for your loved ones and defend your homeworld." This also helped to ensure the Predecessor's destruction by the Precursors, as they quickly lost morale and had nothing to boost it with. 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